Lost Identity
by Lilium00
Summary: [Inspired by the fic 'The Case Opened' by June Ellie] [Sleeper Agent Evan AU] He had been sent to infiltrate the VSSE. He had been caught. He had been conscripted into a war within himself.
1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

[Sleeper Agent Evan AU]  
Intended to be a continuation of Chapter 3 of the fic 'The Case Opened' by June Ellie.  
If you haven't read that, I suggest reading it first. Otherwise this would be a spoiler for that fic and wouldn't make much sense =u=  
Got hit by inspiration (again) after reading Chapter 3 because Evan~  
So I got June's permission and wrote this :3 (Thanks, June!)

*OCs were made because the plot wouldn't move otherwise. Borrowing some kids from a future Evan fic that I'm planning to write (Although I've tweaked their backgrounds to fit with this fic's AU setting. Kept their personalities, though) ;D  
And I get to practice my French. Yay~ (Correct me if you spot mistakes XD)

*This time, I'm not particularly being mean like I did in 'Case Closed'. Be glad XDDD Also, this couldn't fit into 1 chapter, so maybe 2. There'll be a trivia section at the end of the fic to explain all the names, etc. Enjoy!

*Thanks to June Ellie for grammar checking!

* * *

 **Disclaimer:**  
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, business, events and incidents are the products of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

* * *

 **【Lost Identity】**

 **【Part 1】**

 _After completing my investigation, I have discovered that Agent Evan Bernard is the leak. Bernard is not at all who he claims to be, and the name we know him by is most likely not his real name. I have uncovered evidence suggesting that he is a sleeper agent, specifically planted to destabilize the VSSE from within. The large–scale disaster which brought him to the VSSE's attention while he was in the French Coast Guard appears to have been deliberately engineered by his organization so that he could infiltrate the VSSE. Bernard's organization is powerful enough to orchestrate such an occurrence and allow Bernard to pass the VSSE's background checks without raising red flags. We can assume that we are up against a very dangerous enemy. It is imperative that Bernard is captured alive and interrogated to determine the extent of this threat and the organization's goals._

 _Report compiled by VSSE Officer Christy Ryan_

* * *

 _Two years after the incident, Maximum security prison, Unknown location 21:12_

The VSSE's maximum security prison was an area whose existence no one really knew aboutーnot even the VSSE's own agents themselves.

It had no particular name, and was purportedly built in the middle of nowhere, kept so secret that only the chosen guards who ran the place knew of its actual location. Having been built with the blueprints of the inescapable prison of Alcatraz in mind, the place was where the organization would keep their captured high-profile criminals and interrogation subjects, especially ones whose escape would lead to unspeakable outcomes.

Rumor has it that the place was dark, cold and dingy, its wardens and guards demonic bullies who ruled the place with an iron fist. Thus the common name for the prison that the VSSE agents had come up with was 'Cocytus'ーthe lowest, coldest level of Hell where traitors and sinners were eternally imprisoned.

And at night in this Cocytus, after all the lights were put out and all the other inmates had gone to sleep, one light could still be seen shining from under the thick metal door of a certain interrogation room.

* * *

A loud crack rang through the air as warden Bradley Marshall flung another hard punch at the traitor and spy Evan Bernard's cheek.

Evan whimpered and panted from the pain, messy flaxen hair matted onto his sweaty forehead. Wrists handcuffed securely to his chair, his naked body was full of cuts, bruises and scarsーa handful of new ones, hundreds of healing ones, uncountable old onesーeach of them evidence of his refusal to cooperate. Luckily, his captors had been kind enough to at least spare his pretty face any permanent damage. He guessed that it was a rule they had set up to avoid accidentally killing him from blunt trauma to the head.

Evan's identity as a sleeper agent in the VSSE had been discovered by agent Christy Ryan two years ago. While he thought that he had gotten himself close enough to spy on her, it turned out that _he_ was the one to have been spied on. Following Christy's report, the VSSE had immediately captured him and sent him to this prison for interrogation.

But although they had wanted to figure out Evan's allegiances and his organization's motives quickly, not a soul had managed to make Evan open his mouth. Not one in the past two years.

"That's impressive of you to stay silent for this long," Bradley said, "But not to worry, everyone we put here eventually breaks, so I'll just enjoy my time with you until then!" He laughed, punching Evan hard the other way.

Evan coughed. His head spun. He took in a deep breath and spat some blood onto the floor, trying to recover. Bradley grabbed him by the hair, forcing him to look up. Evan glared back with clear, sharp blue eyes, which hadn't dulled one bit even after all the unspeakable horrors he had been forced to go through. Fresh blood trickled down his busted lip, dripping onto his bare chest.

"I'm quite sure that being tied here naked is humiliating enough, but I can make it worse... _Much_ worse," Bradley spat threateningly. "So either you talk, or you provide the entire prison with some fresh entertainment!"

Bradley had an evil grin on his face, clearly loving his job. But Evan, of course, wasn't about to let him win. His face relaxed, and with a belittling look, he smiled his little angelic smile, replying in a teasing whisper.

" _Désolé, je ne comprends pas anglais._ (Sorry, I don't know English.)"

The attitude naturally ticked Bradley off. Evan winced as the warden forcefully yanked his hair hard to the side, slamming his chair onto the floor.

"Stop fucking with me! Maybe having a taste of what things will be like for you tomorrow will change your mind!" Bradley yelled.

Evan rolled his eyes, bracing himself for what was about to happen. But then there was a loud bang and the ceiling's ventilation grate fell onto the floor with a crash.

"What?!" Bradley exclaimed.

From the ventilation shaft, a slender brunette woman dressed fully in a black body suit, hair tied into a neat ponytail, slipped into the room. The lower half of her face was masked with a black cloth. Before Bradley could react, she pointed her gun at him and fired. Evan flinched as the warden's body crashed loudly against the floor in front of him.

"..." He looked at Bradley, whose eyes were open wide in shock as he laid motionless there. Guess his threat was no more. Since the room was soundproof, it shouldn't attract attention from the other guards outside either, he thought. Evan heard the woman approaching him.

" _Voilà!_ Here you are. Sorry it took such a long time to find this place," she said.

"And you're...?" Evan asked, raising an eyebrow curiously, craning his neck and trying hard to see her from his fallen position. The woman stopped in front of him, taking off her mask.

" _C'est moi, numéro quatre-vingt-deux_ (It's me, No. 82)," she smiled at him sweetly. "It's been a long time. Good to see you again, _numéro quatre-vingt-un_ (No. 81)."

" _Mon Dieu...! Ma cherie!_ (My God...! My dear!)" Evan exclaimed, a look of surprise and happiness washing over his face upon recognizing her as a fellow agent from his real organization, as well as his good friend. "It's been four years! ...You've grown into a real woman."

"Save that for later. We need to get out of here," she said, quickly grabbing Bradley's keys and beginning to work on Evan's handcuffs. Evan glanced up at the camera on the ceiling.

"That okay?" He asked.

" _Oui._ (Yes.) _Soixante-quinze_ (No. 75) worked hard and managed to hack into the system. It's currently playing the recording of your interrogation from three months agoーthe one with you getting your face dunked repetitively into an ice water tub."

" _Aïe!_ You don't have to remind me," Evan shuddered. He heard the click of his handcuffs being unlocked and pulled his hands free immediately, rubbing his red wrists and sitting up.

"But soixante-quinze is here, too?!" Evan asked excitedly, eyes lighting up as both No. 82 and No. 75 had been his best friends.

" _Oui._ This prison's on an island. He's waiting for us outside with a motorboat. The VSSE's computer programs will probably figure out that our camera recording's a fake in a few minutes, so we have to hurry," No. 82 said, quickly reaching into her waist bag and taking out another body suit. She held it out to Evan.

"Let's go home."

* * *

 _La Fraternité Headquarters, Paris, France 03:19_

The camera's inconsistencies at the VSSE prison had been discovered a little too quickly, making Evan's escape as well as motorboat ride pure hell. Luckily, they managed to use the raging ocean waves and the poor visibility of the night to their advantage, escaping and disappearing into the darkness. Evan, or should we say 'No. 81' as 'Evan Bernard' was nothing but a cover identity, was glad that he managed to arrive safely back home in his true organization's underground headquarters in Paris.

The organization itself was known as _'La Fraternité'_ ーthe Brotherhood, made up of carefully selected agents who specialized in infiltration, espionage and intel gathering. Agents were recruited as children, raised and trained specially to grow into and be perfect at their job. Most of those children were originally starving orphans from the streets, thankful that they had been given a chance to live. It made the organization feel like a family, and thus its name.

It should also be noted that upon adoption, the children were stripped of all their previous names and identities, being henceforth referred to with agent numbers instead to make them hard to trackーOnce they had entered the brotherhood, they weren't supposed to exist in this world anymore.

La Fraternité's loyalty laid mainly with _Le Milieu_ , the French criminal underworld. The organization's services being crucial in keeping the underworld's activities undetected, it received protection as well as support from the entire underworld itself, making it powerful and influential. In return, the organization was expected to provide the best services and complete their missions without fail.

So needless to say, No. 81's relief at having escaped the VSSE didn't last long. The infiltration mission entrusted to him had blown up into pieces, so returning home like this might as well be flying from the frying pan into the fire. His usual bravado melted away and he gulped nervously as No. 82 and No. 75 escorted him to his boss' office. Every step felt as though he was climbing the stairs to the guillotine. No. 82 and No. 75, being his close friends, looked markedly nervous as well.

When they finally arrived at the luxurious, well-lit room, the boss was seated in a black leather chair behind his desk, facing away from them. No. 82 called out nervously.

" _Euh..._ Zéro... It's quatre-vingt-un. We managed to rescue him safely," she said in a low voice. The air in the room felt heavy.

At that, the leather chair spun around slowly, revealing a man in his fifties, neatly clad in an expensive black suit. He was No. 0, the head of the organization. A thick collection of reports titled _'No. 81 (L'Opération de l'Infiltration de la VSSEーEvan Bernard)'_ was in his hand.

" _Ah, Quatre-vingt-deux, soixante-quinze, beau travail. Bravo_ (Ah, 82, 75, good work. Bravo)," he said with a smile, looking pleased. And then he looked at No. 81, the corners of his lips suddenly dropping, his tone and expression changing immediately.

" _Et bon retour, quatre-vingt-un_ (And welcome back, 81)," he said, his voice curdling with venom as he tossed the reports in his hand onto the desk with irritation, glare never leaving his subject.

No. 0 was everyone's fatherーvery patient and well loved in the organization. Thus, he was normally very hard to cross, but on the rare occasions where unbelievably awesome fuck ups like this happened...

No. 81 looked away, shrinking into himself, nervously avoiding his boss' intense gaze as his heart thumped faster. He could hear No. 0 rise up from his chair, briskly walking towards him until he stood right in front of him.

"Look here," he said, something hot and destructive boiling just beneath the surface.

"..." No. 81 knew what was good for him, but he hesitated. Fear and shame mingled together, and he couldn't bring himself to look.

" _Regardez ici, j'ai dit!_ (I said look here!)" No. 0 commanded, raising his voice.

"..." No. 81 curled his lips in, shivering as he reluctantly turned back. His head remained lowered in submission and guilt as he peered up at his boss through his bangs.

"You know that it was a big mission that we had entrusted to you," No. 0 began, "A lot of money and time to raise and train you, more investments to put you in the French Coast Guard, and then even more to pull the strings to orchestrate the disaster to put you into the VSSE... We went in so far, and progressed so smoothly..."

"And at the last second, you had to ruin everything!" No. 0 snapped, hitting No. 81 hard enough on the cheek to send him slamming against the cold floor.

"Quatre-vingt-un!" No. 82 exclaimed, eyes wide with fear. She tried to get to him, but No. 75 stuck an arm out in front of her and shook his head, not wanting her to get involved in their boss' wrath. No. 81 whimpered, twisting a little on the floor with a hand on his stinging cheek. Tears forced out by the pain welled in his eyes.

"Ten whole years and ten years' worth of money went to a complete waste," No. 0 hissed angrily, "Our best clients lost their trust in us overnight and refused to pay for the mission. To make it even worse, the VSSE now knows that someone was trying to infiltrate them. Trying to plant an agent there again in future will be close to impossible!"

" _J'suis désolé! Donnez-moi une autre chance... S'il vous plaît!_ (I'm sorry! Give me another chance... Please!)" No. 81 begged, all the while not daring to look up at No. 0. He failed to hold back the quiver in his voice.

"..."

No. 0 walked over and knelt down on one knee next to him. No. 81 felt his hair being yanked up, his head being forcefully bent back to expose his face. His boss studied him with scrutiny. Tears of pain, mixed with a lot of fear and horror, rolled down his cheeks.

"They've certainly hurt you after your capture, haven't they?" No. 0 asked, studying the bruises and scars trailing down No. 81's neck.

" _Oui..._ "

"And you've told them nothing?"

" _Oui..._ Yes, sir. Not a wordーI wouldn't dare...!"

No. 0 looked up at No. 82 and No. 75, as if to look for confirmation. No. 82 gulped, nodding slowly. No. 75 nodded as well.

"While they've found out that No. 81 is a spy, no one knows anything about him or that he came from here, sir," No. 75 elaborated with a pleading look, "I mean, it's the VSSEーIf they've found out, they'd have shot him dead and come after us immediately. But they haven't."

"..."

No. 0 thought a little about it. The good news seemed to have fixed his mood a little. He let go of No. 81 and stood up. No. 82 and No. 75 immediately ran to No. 81's side protectively. The boss walked away back to his desk, taking in a deep breath to calm down.

"That, quatre-vingt-un. Well done," he said, standing next to his leather chair, "I know that we mess up at times. I'd have loved to forgive you just for having shown such fierce loyalty towards the brotherhoodーafter all, you're one of our best agents, and I respect you for that. But..."

He let himself drop into his seat, sighing with a perplexed look. No. 82 and No. 75 were helping No. 81 to his feet. He watched the three of them quietly.

"But...?" No. 81 asked once he regained his footing.

"But your loyalty doesn't change the fact that you have failed," No. 0 continued. "Our sponsors and clientsーbig names, all of themーwere enraged that their money and time had gone down the black hole. And our board of directors had agreed that the only way to appease them would be to offer them your screams and eventually, your head. That's why we went through all the trouble of getting you back here in the first place."

No. 81 froze. No. 82 gasped in disbelief.

"Wait, wait, wait! No. You've never told us that!" No. 75 protested, "You mean we've rescued No. 81 just to feed him to the wolves?!"

"I'm afraid so," No. 0 said with a troubled look. "It's for the good of the entire organization. We need to regain our clients' trust."

No. 81 looked to the floor, never having felt greater fear. "I..."

If he ran away from this, the brotherhood would be in trouble. His two best friends who stood by him would be blamed for it and asked to be his replacements. And who knew what disaster would befall the rest of his beloved seniors and juniors. His nails dug into his palms as he tightened his fists.

"I'll take the blame," he said boldly.

"Quatre-vingt-un! No!" No. 82 pleaded, grabbing his arm.

"Please," he told her, "I'm just one person. If this big mess can be solved with just me, then they can have me."

"Isn't there some other way...?" No. 75 took a step forward, urging the boss.

No. 0 turned his chair to the side, hands on his knees, racking his mind for other possible routes. He could be strict when it came to failures, but he still saw every member of the Fraternité as his own beloved childrenーeveryone having been raised by him when they were first recruited as young kids, No. 81 included. He had watched them grow up like a father, and he'd hate to simply discard them into the fire if it could be helped.

"There might just be a way," No. 0 responded after a while.

"...?!" A ray of hope shone on the three young agents.

"What is it?" No. 82 asked hurriedly.

"Quatre-vingt-un did well by keeping quiet about us, so I'll do my best to argue his case with the board of directors and ask them to reconsider," the boss said, "But I doubt that just that is going to be enough to please all of them. So I need you to complete a certain mission and prove that you're still a worthy asset. Will you accept it?"

"Tell us," No. 75 said.

"Whatever it is, we'll help out," No. 82 added. No. 81 looked at his friends, touched by their immediate supportiveness. He looked back at No. 0, waiting for his answer.

The boss nodded at their determination. He opened his desk's drawer and took out a thick red folder, opening it on his table.

"As of late, there has been an armed man around this area," No. 0 said.

"He seems to be snooping around trying to gather information about us. And once he discovers that an individual comes from our organization, he shoots them down without mercy. Last week, he took down cinquante-trois (No. 53) and cinquante-cinq (No. 55). Just yesterday, cent-six (No. 106) and cent-neuf (No. 109) went down. Over the past year, he has killed 19 of us in total. Quite impressive of him to even manage to find out that they're our members."

The boss leaned back and continued, "We think that this man wanted to destroy the Fraternité bit by bit, and the board of directors has been on edge over it for the whole year. Problem is, no matter who we sent to get rid of him, no one came back alive."

He looked at No. 81. "But you, quatre-vingt-un... If it's you, we might just have a chance. Finishing this mission will calm the board of directors down and give me a sure-fire way to get you off the hook. So... are you in?"

No. 81 frowned, clenching his fists in anger. "He killed our brothers. I'll stop him even if no one asked me to. Tell me his name."

"Well..." No. 0 said, "According to our intelligence, he's an ex-VSSE agent, quitting just a year ago. And his name is..."

 _Giorgio Bruno._


	2. Part 2

**Author's Note:**

I'm having too much fun writing this XDDD  
Seriously June, thank you so much for the inspiration to write a badass Evan OwO

* * *

 **【Lost Identity】**

 **【Part 2】**

 _They were in the middle of a VSSE mission._

 _The terrorist whom they were after had awesomely gone to hide in the Arctic of all places. Giorgio and Evan, the ship that they had used to give chase having shipwrecked and washed up onto the ice, were shivering in the ship's remains despite their thick coats. To make matters worse, a terrible snowstorm swirled persistently in the frozen night around them._

 _Evan hugged himself, desperately trying to stay warm. He couldn't believe that after all the dangerous missions he had gone through, he'd just die freezing here and no one would even know. He thought for sure that that would be the end of it. But then, Giorgio took off his coat and threw it around him, wrapping it tightly around his shivering form._

 _"Tonton (uncle), you want to die?!" Evan asked with a disbelieving look, trying to return the coat._

 _"Shut up and just keep it!" Giorgio ordered with irritation, holding his partner's hands down. "I've lost more people than I've wanted to. Don't add to the body count!"_

 _"..."_

 _"Backup will arrive by morning. We'll make it," Giorgio said._

 _"Oh, you mean I'll make it," Evan muttered. "I'm not such a wimp, alright? Here, take it back. Things will get so troublesome if you die," he said, trying to return the coat again. Giorgio only stopped him once more._

 _"Look, either one of us survives, or we both freeze to death!" He snapped at Evan. "If one of us has to die, then I'd want you to be the one walking out of this alive!"_

 _"..." Evan looked up at him, unsure of what to say. Giorgio's voice softened._

 _"I care about you, alright? Now stop fighting back."_

* * *

No. 81 splashed some cold water onto his face. He stayed there leaning over the bathroom sink for a moment, eyes closed and silent as he let the water drip. He breathed out, thinking back to that one life or death situation he had faced with Giorgio during his VSSE days.

Two days had passed since he arrived at La Fraternité's underground headquarters in Paris. Freshly rescued from prison, he had looked quite messed up upon arrival, but he had quickly tended to himself once he got the chance. Now he was dressed in a clean set of clothes, his formerly messy hair neatly cut and styled. All wounds had been properly bandaged and patched up, and he was ready for his given task. Opening his eyes, he looked into the mirror, studying himself quietly.

 _'Evan Bernard... Non (No)... Numéro quatre-vingt-un (No. 81).'_

 _'Oui, c'est numéro quatre-vingt-un (Yes, it's No. 81).'_

He repeated to himself in his head. Having been 'Evan Bernard' for over six years since he was put in the French Coast Guard, being suddenly referred to as 'quatre-vingt-un' again felt a little foreign, so he tried to squeeze himself back into it. The next thing he needed to worry about was smothering every last thought he had left about Giorgio. Today, he would kill the man without fail, so he pushed aside the memories of them having been partners who trusted each other.

Agents of the Fraternité had been trained first and foremost to be masters of their feelings. The rule of thumb was to never, ever, ever get close to any of the targets, as it would most definitely lead to poor judgement in future. Thus, No. 81 and his fellow agents had been trained extensively to fake all their relationships, shooting down any of their own feelings that might have grown while they were still sprouts. Loyalty and friendship were luxuries reserved only for other members of the Brotherhoodーtheir own brothers and sisters.

And so far, No. 81 had been one of the fiercest to adhere to that code. Like all the people he had assassinated during his infiltrations before, Giorgio meant nothing.

 _'Yes, he meant nothing',_ he repeated.

He took his towel and wiped his face dry. Looking into the mirror, he had a determined look, not a trace of doubt in his clear blue eyes.

* * *

 _Slums, Paris 04:46_

It was an ungodly hour in the morning. The skies had lit up a deep blue, but the sun had not yet risen. The stars were still visible and most of the residents of the beautiful city of Paris were still sound asleep. But in the dark alleys of the city's slums, the activities of the day had already begun.

No. 152 and No. 153, two younger members of the Fraternité, stood there with their suitcases, ready to sell the intel that their seniors had gathered. Normally, they'd be neatly dressed in suits, but they had worn simpler casual clothing today in order to blend in with their surroundings.

A few gang members soon came towards them from around the corner, their own suitcases in hand. Their leader stopped in front of the two agents, opening his suitcase so they could see the fat wads of cash inside. No. 152 and No. 153 nodded to each other, and the trade was smoothly made. What they did not know was that they were being watched.

* * *

From the rooftop of an abandoned building, Giorgio looked closely at the transaction in the slums through the clear lens of his sniper rifle. After the gang members had left, he followed No. 152 and No. 153 with his rifle scope. Aim sharpened to perfection from all his VSSE years, Giorgio placed a finger on his gun's trigger.

Two years ago, Evan, the cheerful sunshine whom he had so gladly allowed into his life as a close friend and dear partner, had betrayed the VSSEーhad betrayed _him_. Since the beginning, their seemingly perfect friendship and trust had all been nothing but an act, and Evan had had a good laugh in the end, watching him break as he found out.

Naturally, the heartbreak wasn't any good for Giorgio's mental health, violently shattering it like glass being slammed full force onto the floor. Though Evan had been immediately sent off for interrogation, it did nothing to quell the raging storm that continued to roll and thunder in Giorgio's heart and mind. The inner turmoil eventually led to him being unable to properly carry out his VSSE missions, putting his life in danger. Afterwards, he had ended up being dismissed for his own good.

Quitting the VSSE however, turned out to be a pleasant surprise. It took a huge load off of Giorgio's shoulders, and he was happy for a while. But every time anyone he met tried to start a proper conversation with him, all he could see behind their kind smiles was Evan's sly, lying, psychotic grin. Finding nothing but hidden knives in their welcoming hands, he pushed everyone awayーas far away as possible. His fear caused people to despise him in return, misunderstanding his intentions. Giorgio felt as though he would never be able to have proper human interactions again, and his days were a living hell.

Rolling further down the dark drain of depression and anxiety, his train-wreck then went to mass drinking and suicidal thoughts. Giorgio had gone all the way to standing at the edge of his apartment's roof one rainy night, thinking of just ending it all. Then as if God hated him that much and wanted to rub more salt into the festering wound, Evan's last words to himーthe ones that had hurt the mostーhad to resurface in his mind at the last second.

 _"Oh, this is rich! Did you actually think we were friends?" Evan gasped for breath through his laughter. "Why on earth would anyone want to be friends with a screwed–up, antisocial loner like you?"_

Giorgio winced. Although almost a year had passed, it was still painful, and he felt sick to the stomach. How could Evan do that to him? How could he have let it happen? Why was the world so stupid?

It was then that something in Giorgio's mind clicked like a switch, and then he suddenly saw the truth.

No, he wasn't even sad that Evan had betrayed him. Neither was he desperate, nor afraid, nor crestfallen, nor anxious, nor depressed... No, none of those.

He was angry.

How _dare_ that boy trick him and play with his feelings like that? After all the sacrifices he had made for him, after all the good times they'd spent together, after all those times he had pulled him out of a tight spot, not even the slightest bit of remorse? Preposterous!

Giorgio knitted his brow. If he jumped off the roof right now, it would just mean that he had let Evan trample all over him and win without even fighting backーthe boy would have all the right to laugh at him from Hell.

His blood suddenly boiling under his skin, Giorgio took a sure step back from the edge of the roof. Oh, how he suddenly remembered the beautiful words that his mafia boss of a father would always tell his enemies...

 _'If you mess with us, you'll be messed with.'_

The words had never been more appropriate in Giorgio's life. Tough luck for Evan to have angered the wrong guy. Giorgio swore that he would make him pay for what he had done. Twofold and with interest. He wanted to hurt Evan as much as Evan had hurt him.

And the rage had turned Giorgio into a cold-blooded killer. Relentless and forceful info gathering about Evan had led to him discovering Evan's actual organization, La Fraternité, relatively quickly. Now, was he going to report it to the VSSE?

Nope. Reporting it would have most definitely resulted in orders to keep them alive for interrogation, much like what had been ordered in Evan's case. He couldn't let that get in his way.

Knowing that the organization was like family to Evan, Giorgio's idea of revenge was to massacre all of its membersーevery last one. And when he had, he'd go to the so called 'Cocytus' and tell Evan all about it. Let's see who'd have the last laugh after that.

Sniper rifle aim trained steadily on No. 152's head, Giorgio slowly pulled down on the trigger.

"Stop right there."

Giorgio stopped when he heard a familiar voice, hearing a few guns being pointed at him simultaneously. Slowly lowering his sniper rifle, he glanced behind him, in the direction where the voice had come from. Three people stood there, handguns pointed at him.

"Oh, if it isn't Evan. What a surprise," Giorgio said, "Didn't know Cocytus was that easy to break out of."

"I have the best team," EvanーNo. 81 smirked. His easy expression then turned into a glare. "Now I'll have to stop you from getting in our way. Come quietly and we might just spare you a few extra days to say your prayers."

Giorgio sighed. "Guess this can't end without a fight, huh?" He glared back at No. 81.

"So be it."

Suddenly dropping his rifle, Giorgio pulled out his pistol, immediately firing at No. 81 and his team. The three took cover and shot back at Giorgio, but Giorgio was relentless. Taking a smoke bomb from his waist, he threw it at them, whitening out the scene in the blink of an eye and causing confusion.

No. 81 coughed from the smoke. He looked around for No. 82 and No. 75, but held back from calling out to them to avoid revealing his location to Giorgio. However, what he saw instead of his comrades was Giorgio escaping to another roof.

"Stop right there!" He shouted, immediately giving chase.

What No. 81 didn't know though, was that Giorgio had gotten him exactly where he wanted. Having successfully separated him from his friends, Giorgio led him down the roof into an alley, where it would be hard to see them. Once he arrived on the ground, he suddenly turned around, tackling his unsuspecting pursuer.

"...!"

No. 81 was taken by surprise, Giorgio slamming him to the floor. What he had forgotten to consider was that as much as he knew Giorgio's tendencies and fighting style, Giorgio knew him. Immediately realizing that he had been separated on purpose, No. 81 quickly reached for his fallen gun to avoid trouble. But Giorgio wasn't regarded as one of the VSSE's best agents for nothing.

Quick as lightning, he put his weight on No. 81, pressing him down and grabbing his wrist. With another swift move, Giorgio disarmed him, and No. 81 soon found himself in an inescapable predicament, being pressed face down with his right arm twisted painfully behind his back. Giorgio was on top of him, safe and with an advantage.

Having ended up in a locked position, the two of them panted heavily, trying to catch their breath. Giorgio pressed the muzzle of his gun roughly against No. 81's head. Pent-up anger gushing out, his finger rested dangerously on the trigger. He could have shot him dead immediately, but somehow at this last moment, something in him made him hesitate.

"What? Can't shoot children?" No. 81 panted, taunting lazily despite his situation.

"Shut up, you lying bastard!" Giorgio yelled back.

"Did it for the family. I'm sure _you_ , of all people, would understand," No. 81 replied, without the slightest fear in his voice, "My loyalty lies with my brothers and sistersーthose who had taken me in and raised me so dearly. If I have to die for them, I have no regrets."

"..."

"Now shoot already," No. 81 said. Giorgio's hand shook a little.

"...Was it all a lie?" He found himself asking againーthe very same question that he had asked when he first found out about No. 81's betrayal.

"...?"

"Was it all a lie?!" Giorgio urged, pressing his gun down harder against No. 81's head. "After everything that we went through together?! You're about to die anyway, so you might as well answer me truthfully!"

"...Well..." No. 81 stared into the distance. Fond memories of him and Giorgio laughing and facing danger together danced at the back of his mind. While he had always been true to his organization's code and mission, he couldn't deny that at those times, he'd forget that he was No. 81 for a moment. At those times, he had truly been 'Evan Bernard'ーa free man bound by no code, who was treasured by his friends, and who was free to treasure his friends in return. He smiled a little at the wistful reminiscence.

"Heh, maybe not all of it was a lie, after all," No. 81 said a little sadly. "You're my targets, so I couldn't allow myself to get too close. But you, Alan, Wesley and the others... I did enjoy all the little fun we had in the processーAll the freedom that I'd never even dreamed of having in my own organization..."

He paused, closing his eyes. "It might have been short, but it was a wonderful dream. Thanks for giving me a great time."

"..." Giorgio looked at him quietly, trying to process this new information. With his gun still pointed at No. 81's head, he spoke with a low, hesitant voice.

"...Come back to us."

Truthfully, he wanted nothing more than to kill the rotten man in front of him, but having heard No. 81's explanation, his old self deep within him nagged at him, wanting to fix things, wanting to magically get everything back to the happy old times before the illusion was shattered. That old self told him to give the man before him a chance.

"...Sorry, but no can do," No. 81 replied, "You can forget about itー'Evan Bernard' never existed in the first place."

"Evan! Stop that!" Giorgio yelled impatiently, turning No. 81 over onto his back and pinning him down by the shoulders. He glared straight into his eyes, knowing thatーwanting to believe that his lost precious friend still lay asleep somewhere in there, buried under the thick shell keeping him locked away from the world.

"You're what you make yourself to be. Don't let them control you!"

"..." No. 81 looked back at him, wide-eyed with disbelief and confusion. Never had such a ludicrous thought even crossed his mind. Bite back at the hands of those who had so painstakingly raised him? Outrageous!

However, before he could even retort, the two of them were surprised by a sudden deafening gunshot to Giorgio's shoulder. Giorgio fell to the side, painfully clutching at his wound.

"Get away from him!" No. 81 heard. No. 82 and No. 75 were standing there at the end of the alley, pistols ready in hand. Giorgio writhed on the ground, trying to recover from the pain. Seeing his chance, No. 81 quickly regained his footing and grabbed his fallen gun, pointing it at Giorgio.

"Should have killed me when you had the chance, _tonton_ ," No. 81 said.

"Evan..." Giorgio called out desperately, "Wake up..."

"..." No. 81 stayed silent. He knew that the desperate look on Giorgio's face wasn't because he was afraid to die, but because he was afraid of losing himーhis dearest friend.

 _"If one of us has to die, then I'd want you to be the one walking out of this alive!"_

Giorgio's words from all those years ago rang loudly in No. 81's head. The worst-case scenario which he had feared the most, which he had been trained all these years to prevent, had come to pass. The feelings that he had failed to kill off completely now opened their toothed maw and swallowed him whole. A full-blown all-out war stormed up in his mind. Sweat poured down his deeply-knitted brows. The hand holding his gun shook.

Giorgio cared about him more than anyone in the Brotherhood did. And in return, Evan Bernard cared about Giorgio more than he cared for his brothers and sisters. The code that his organization had imposed on him began to falter. No. 81 closed his eyes, trying to contain himself.

 _"Did you actually think we were friends? Why on earth would anyone want to be friends with a screwed–up, antisocial loner like you?" No. 81 had said that fateful day._

 _"Yes. Hate me. Walk away. If you associate with me any further after this, your life and future will be in danger!" Evan had screamed and cried underneath the surface that very same moment, choosing to sever their ties for Giorgio's sake. "Forgive me."_

 _No. 81 had grabbed Evan by the neck and did his best to snuff him out afterwards. It had been hard. His thoughts and ideals crisscrossed, overlapped, and then caved in on themselves in a twisted way._

 _ー Who am I? ー_

"You really... should have killed me when you had the chance..." No. 81 said frustratedly in almost a whisper.

With a sudden twist, he turned, shooting No. 75 squarely in the chest. Not even sure what had hit him, No. 75 fell to the ground in shock.

"Quatre-vingt-un! Whatー...?!" No. 82 shouted in disbelief. She looked back and forth between her two friends, astonished.

"I didn't kill him, but I hit him somewhere bad," No. 81 said, "If you don't take him to the hospital immediately, he might not make it."

"Quatre-vingt-un...!"

"Quatre-vingt-deux... I'm sorry, but..." he said, closing his eyes. When he opened them again, he had a changed look, as though he had been reborn.

"My name is Evan Bernard!"

He grinned the truly innocent grin that only Evan could make. Giorgio's eyes widened.

"The organization will come after you!" No. 82 shouted in fear. She knew fully well what her friend's actions meant, as well as what they would entail. Utterly horrified, she was on the verge of tears.

"I know, quatre-vingt-deux, I know..." Evan said, sadness apparent in his face. "Now please, take soixante-quinze with you and go! I've been a failure... Tell everyone that I betrayed you and that you had nothing to do with this. ...I'm afraid this is goodbye."

Evan's voice cracked as he said the words. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he forced a smile at his friends. No. 82 was in tears as well. She was about to convince him to change his mind, but No. 75 coughed, blood spilling thickly out of his mouth. No. 82 looked at him and then glared at Giorgio and Evan. Quickly bending down and slinging No. 75's arm across her shoulders, she hurriedly took off, saying words of encouragement to keep her wounded friend awake.

"..." Evan watched them until they were out of sight. Lowering his gun, he sighed, wiping his tears away.

"Evan..." Giorgio called out as he stood up, wrapping a cloth around his wounded shoulder and applying some pressure to reduce the bleeding.

" _Tonton_..." Evan slowly turned to look at Giorgio. "You know what? You're the worst," he said, walking over to him.

Placing his gun in Giorgio's hand, Evan then held it up so that its muzzle rested against his own heart.

"There. Now pull the trigger," Evan said, his voice flat.

"What are you talking about?!" Giorgio questioned, yanking his hand free. Evan looked away.

"First I betrayed the VSSE, now I've betrayed my family, too," he said. "My organization doesn't take betrayal lightlyーThey'll hunt me down and oh, they totally won't let me die easy. There's no escape and I'm not looking forward to it," Evan said. He looked up at Giorgio and grinned bitterly.

"So if you still care for me, have mercy and kill me right now, would you? It'll be good payback for what I did to you too, right?"

"..."

To Evan's surprise, Giorgio merely wrapped his good arm around him and pulled him into a tight hug.

"Evan... You're back."

"...Giorgio?"

Giorgio pulled away, but his hands held Evan's shoulders firmly. "If you think I'm just going to let a friend die, you're wrong."

"...?" Evan looked at him curiously. Did he not know the depth of the swamp that he was about to throw himself into?

"But how are you planning to do that?" Evan asked. "Let me remind you that it's not only my organization, but also the Milieuーthe entire French underworldーthat will be after us. And I'm pretty sure that the VSSE would love to hunt me down for further interrogation too. We'll have neither the criminals nor the law on our side. It'll be us against the world!"

"We'll find a way," Giorgio said reassuringly, "We always did, didn't we? I want you to trust me again this timeーlike you always did back then."

"..."

Evan was surprised at Giorgio's confidence for a moment. But then he remembered how Giorgio had always been good at what he did. And he remembered how he would give it his all when it came to protecting everyone he loved.

Never having felt safer, Evan sighed. He closed his eyes, smiling gently and nodding, putting himself fully in Giorgio's hands. Giorgio smiled back at him, feeling like a little of his old self had come back and the world had turned just a little more hopeful.

And with that, the two of them vanished into the dawn, exiting the world of secret agents and crime together.

 **【END】**

* * *

 **【Trivia Collection】**

\- No. 81  
→ 2006 (TC4's release year) - 25 (Evan's age) = 1981 → 81

\- No. 82 (Désirée) and No. 75 (Bastien) come from a future Evan fic that I'm planning to write. Look out for them when the fic comes ;D  
As for their numbers, I just picked random ones close to '81' to show that the three of them joined the organization around the same time.

\- No. 0 (the boss) only appears in this fic, but I'm growing to like him (He's fun to write.) :p The other numbered characters who appeared are completely random.

\- The VSSE maximum security prison is loosely based on the Alcatraz prison. Cocytus is the frozen lowest level of hell where Satan, traitors and sinners are imprisoned in Dante's 'Divine Comedy'.

\- 'La Fraternité' (Evan's organization) is fictional, but 'Le Milieu' (the French underworld) is an actual, existing thing.

Thanks for reading and hope you had fun! XD


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